Palletiser for loading and packaging unstable containers

ABSTRACT

The innovation disclosed herein is an improved palletiser for loading and packaging unstable articles, such as plastic, glass, steel, aluminum, etc. containers onto a pallet for bulk storage and/or transport. The innovation includes a pallet station having a pallet housing that receives pallets, a layer pad store substantially aligned with the pallet housing, a container lifting sub-assembly that receives a predetermined row of containers, a pusher assembly that urges the predetermined row of containers onto a pallet, and a layer pad transfer assembly.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an improved palletiser for loading andpackaging unstable articles such as plastic, glass, steel or aluminumcontainers onto a pallet for bulk storage and/or transport. Inparticular the present invention relates to an improved palletisersystem for efficient loading of multiple unstable articles such asbottles or cans and the like containers in bulk quantities onto a palletfor supply and transport.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is usual practice in a production line of manufactured articles, forthe articles to be packaged into cartons or various containers fortransport. Where there are multiple containers required to betransported by shipping or the like, the containers are usually loadedonto a pallet for convenient handling and to optimize load efficiency.

A pallet is a standard support and carrier structure for receivingstacked items thereon, whereby the pallet can be readily lifted andtransferred by a lifting machine such as a ‘fork lift”. It is desirablefrom an economic perspective, to (a) maximize the number of articlesonto a pallet, and (b) load the pallet as efficiently and timely aspracticable.

Palletisers are known to load containers or cartons of articles onto apallet in an organised stacked condition to make optimal use ofavailable space. One method of palletising includes building of layerswhere cartons of articles are formed in rows, and rows formed intolayers. In this method, rows of articles are constructed, and the rowsare transferred to a layer assembly platform until a layer is completed.The completed layer is then transferred to the load under construction.The layer assembly platform is withdrawn from the layer of items todeposit the layer onto the pallet or a previously deposited layer.

Often, in order to optimise load capacity, articles for forming thelayer are initially oriented in a desired pattern at a loading location.Once in the desired partem, the layer is typically squared beforetransfer to a pallet. This necessarily means that such a process isdiscontinuous, and stability of the progressively formed layers ofcartons of articles relies on the inherent stackability of one carton ontop of another.

A further drawback with such a palletiser method/system is that whilethis might be suitable for solid containers such as cartons or boxescontaining multiple items therein, the system is not practical forloading of multiple unstable items such as plastic, glass, steel oraluminium containers including cans, jars and bottles. For example,loading of single manufactured bottles leads to breakages and/or fallenproduct which disrupts the loading and layer process. Hence manufacturedbottles, for example, are usually packaged initially into cartons orboxes, and the boxes subsequently loaded onto a pallet by the layermethod/system. This step of pre-packaging of bottles into cartons orboxes is time consuming and adds a layer of costs to a loading process.

Some attempts have been made to address the shortcomings of palletisersfor loading bottles. One attempt disclosed in BP 1,932,783 provides amachine which manipulates a group of articles such as bottles byarranging similarly sized objects in a predefined pattern. Once a layerhas been arranged, a gripping member picks up the layer and transfers toa pallet. An example of a gripping member can be seen in WO02/04327having a plurality of spaced apart rods forming channels therebetween,whereby the channels are adapted to receive bottles which are suspendedby the neck.

Palletisers of the above type require a substantial space within whichto operate not the least because a partem of articles needs to bepre-formed, and a large gripping structure is required to locate andreceive the layer pattern formed, and then transfer the load to apallet. The array of steps required for loading on to a pallet is alsosomewhat disjointed to the extent that the rate of layer formation isrelatively slow. There thus remains a need for a palletiser apparatuswhich can substantially continuously load unstable articles such asbottles onto a pallet for transport.

An alternative form of loading comes in the form of a robotic pick andplace palletiser. Such a palletiser uses a programmable mechanism topick an item from a picking location and transfer to a pallet load. Thistype of system is practical for non-rigid bagged items where thecontents can move and flow because the bags can be dropped and pliablecontents deform to previously deposited bags. Hence final placementaccuracy is less critical and higher rates therefore attainable. Thistype of palletiser however cannot be used for loading and packagingunstable manufactured bottles.

Robotic palletisers are also known that will pick a predetermined row ofcontainers and transfer these to the pallet. However these type ofpalletiser have practical drawbacks including when changing to adifferent stack pattern such as extra bottles in a row, end of arm toolssuch as a row of container pick up arms need to be changed. Such systemsalso require a large space to operate in to the extent that an area mustencompass the swing arc of the robot, as well as an array of spacedapart stations that in turn need to be maintained and stocked.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to address one ormore of the foregoing problems. It is a further object to provide thepublic with a useful alternative.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a palletiser system for efficientloading and packaging of unstable container, the palletiser including:

-   -   a first pallet station including:        -   a pallet housing for receiving in-feed of a pallet(s) from a            pallet in-feed path, the pallet housing having a floor            portion for supporting a pallet thereon, the floor portion            being movable between a pallet receiving position and a            container receiving station in a first pathway by a fast            lifting means in the first pallet station, wherein in a            loading condition the pallet is raised to the container            receiving station;        -   a layer pad store aligned substantially with and in spaced            apart relation to the pallet housing, the layer pad store            being adapted to receive a store of layer pads for placement            over a layer of containers on a pallet;        -   a passageway intermediate the pallet housing and layer pad            store for communication with a container in-feed;        -   a container lifting sub-assembly mounted within the            passageway, wherein the container lifting sub-assembly            includes a movable platform for receiving a predetermined            row of containers from the container in-feed, the movable            platform adapted to move by a second lifting means between a            container in-feed condition and a container transfer station            located adjacent the container receiving station, whereby            the movable platform is raised by the lifting means to the            container transfer station when a predetermined row of            containers is detected on the movable platform, and wherein            the movable platform defines a second pathway within the            first pallet station substantially parallel to the first            pathway;        -   pusher assembly including a pusher arm member mounted within            the first pallet station adjacent the container transfer            station, the pusher arm being reciprocally operable in a            third pathway above and in a transverse plane to the first            and second pathway to urge a predetermined row of containers            on the container receiving platform at the container            transfer station onto a surface portion of the pallet            immediately adjacent thereto, whereby the movable platform            is transferred to the container in-feed condition following            transfer of the predetermined row of containers for            receiving a second row of containers in a repeated cycle;        -   a layer pad transfer assembly located adjacent the layer pad            store, the layer pad sub-assembly including a layer pad            transfer means whereby when a predetermined layer of            containers is formed on the pallet, the layer pad transfer            means is actuated by the layer pad assembly to engage a            layer pad from the layer pad store and transfer the layer            pad over and onto the layer of containers in a fourth            pathway within the first pallet station substantially            parallel to the third pathway, whereby the layer pad            provides a fresh surface thereon for a second and subsequent            layers of containers;    -   wherein when a layer pad is placed over a layer of containers on        the pallet, the floor portion of the pallet housing is        incrementally lowered within the pallet housing to receive a        second and progressive layers of containers, whereby when a        predetermined number of layers is stacked on the pallet, the        pallet is automatically lowered within the pallet housing to the        pallet receiving position to allow transfer of the pallet to an        exit pathway, and receipt of a replacement pallet in a cyclical        manner.

The present invention overcomes a number of disadvantages of prior artsystems. In particular, the instant palletiser system is able to dealwith multiple containers in a stable manner so as to substantially avoidthe need for pre-packaging of otherwise unstable articles. Thisrepresents a clear departure from the prior art to the extent that theinstant palletiser is less labour intensive while increasing packingefficiency and productivity. Further, the interaction between thedefined pathways within the pallet station allows the palletiser tooccupy a relatively small footprint.

Throughout the description the term ‘containers’ includes plastic,glass, steel, aluminium jars, cans, bottles and the like containers.

In one embodiment, the containers can bo plastic bottles or glass jarsor steel or aluminium cans.

The palletiser system can further include a container in-feed conveyorfor transferring multiple bottles to the first pallet station throughthe passageway, the in-feed conveyor having a conveying portionconfigured to enter the passageway in a direction substantiallytransverse to the pallet in-feed path.

The palletiser system according to the present invention can include oneor more palletiser stations in a series having aligned passageways forreceipt of an in-feed conveyor, wherein in a preferred form the in-feedconveyor includes a plurality of vertically spaced and parallel bottlein-feed lines linking each pallet station such that in a single passeach container receiving station can receive a plurality of bottles. Inthis embodiment the series of palletiser stations are linked by aplurality of vertically spaced apart bottle in-feed conveyors arrangedin parallel, and the aligned passageways of each pallet station providesa through pathway for the bottle in-feed conveyor to pass therethrough,wherein a first in-feed conveyor feeds bottles to the -first palletiserstation and subsequent in-feed conveyors feed containers to the at leastsecond and third palletiser stations linked in the series.

One advantage of the series of palletiser stations so linked is that theloading of one row of containers on a first pallet can be offset withthe series of palletiser stations so that loading and palletisingprocess by the system can be substantially continuous.

When a predetermined number of bottles forming a row of containers isreceived on a container receiving platform at the container receivingstation, the platform is raised by the second lifting means to apredetermined level within the first pallet station located adjacent thepallet when the pallet is at the bottle receiving station.

The first pallet station can include a pallet in-feed sub-assembly fortransferring a feed of pallets from a pallet store. The pallet in-feedsub-assembly can include a transfer means such as a track or rollersystem electrically operable to transfer a pallet along the path forloading onto the floor portion of the pallet housing. The floor portionof the pallet housing can include a track or roller system adapted tocooperate with the in-feed path to allow automatic loading of a palletonto the floor portion.

The pallet in-feed sub-assembly can include:

-   -   (i) a delivery in-feed conveyor for receiving and transferring        at least one pallet of stacked used layer pads; and    -   (ii) a pallet control means downstream from the delivery in-feed        conveyor, the pallet control means adapted to position the        pallet on the in-feed conveyor for transferring onto the floor        of the pallet housing.

The layer pad transfer assembly can include a sub-assembly mountedwithin the pallet station above the layer pad store for supportingsliding movement of the layer pad transfer means between a pick-up andtransfer conditions, wherein the transfer means is adapted to pick upand locate a top layer pad from the layer pad store on to the layer ofcontainers on the pallet.

The layer pad transfer means can include:

-   -   (i) a vacuum head assembly comprising a vacuum generator,        suction cups and a frame;    -   (ii) a head frame guided cylinder for adjusting the height of        the head assembly; and    -   (iii) a gantry linear drive for providing substantially        horizontal movement to the head assembly between the layer pad        store and the pallet in a bottle receiving position.

The palletiser system can further include a pallet out-feed path fortransferring a fully loaded pallet exiting the pallet housing of thepallet station to a further processing station downstream therefrom. Theout-feed path can include a transfer means, which cooperates with thetrack or roller of the floor portion.

The palletiser system can include a plastic wrapping stationintersecting the pallet out-feed path, whereby the wrapping station caninclude a rotatable platform and a plastic wrapping structure, on whichthere is located wound plastic wrap material, wherein an initial portionof the wrap material is contacted with the loaded pallet and thereafterthe platform is rotated so that the plastic wrap material is unwoundfrom the wrapping structure about the loaded pallet.

The palletiser system can further include a container manufacturingapparatus such as a plastic bottle manufacturer upstream from the firstpallet station, wherein bottles manufactured are dispensed by thecontainer manufacturing apparatus onto the one or more bottle in-feedconveyor(s) for transfer of the containers to one or more palletstations for loading onto a pallet.

In a related aspect of the present invention there is disclosed apalletiser system for efficient loading and packaging of unstable itemssuch as plastic or glass bottles or steel or aluminium cans, thepalletiser system including:

-   -   a series of palletiser stations for receiving bottles and        pallets for substantially continuous loading, the stations        including:        -   a pallet bousing for receiving one or more pallets from a            pallet in-feed, the pallet housing includes a movable floor            portion, the floor adapted to be raised and lowered by a            lifting means within the palletiser station between a pallet            receiving condition and a bottle receiving location at a            predetermined level, whereby the movable floor defines a            first pathway within the pallet station,            -   a layer pad store for receiving a stack of layer pads                for placement over a layer of bottles on a pallet, the                layer pad store being spaced apart from and in                substantial alignment with the pallet housing;        -   an entrance and exit opening in each of the pallet stations            defining a passageway therebetween intermediate the pallet            housing and layer pad store, wherein the series of pallet            stations is aligned so that the passageways form a            thoroughfare;        -   an in-feed conveyor assembly for transferring bottles to            each pallet station in a single pass including a plurality            of vertically spaced and parallel bottle in-feed lines            linking each line to a pallet station via the thoroughfare,            wherein at least a portion of the in-feed lines extend in a            pathway substantially transverse to the pallet in-feed;        -   a bottle lifting sub-assembly mounted within the each            passageway, wherein the bottle lifting sub-assembly includes            a movable platform for receiving a predetermined row of            bottles from at least one of the bottle in-feed lines, the            movable platform adapted to move by a second lifting means            between a bottle in-feed condition and a bottle transfer            station located adjacent the bottle receiving station,            whereby the movable platform is raised by the lifting means            to the bottle transfer station when a predetermined row of            bottles is detected on the movable platform, and wherein the            movable platform defines a further pathway within the first            pallet station substantially parallel to the first pathway;        -   a bottle pusher means movably mounted to the each palletiser            station adjacent the layer pad store, and operable between a            stationary mode and a pushing mode, whereby in a stationary            mode sufficient space is provided between the floor portion            of the pallet housing and the pusher means for receiving the            bottle receiving platform therebetween in a bottle            dispensing position whereby the pallet and platform form a            substantially continuous surface, and whereby in a pushing            mode the pusher means moves over a fourth defined pathway            which intersects with the second pathway for urging a row of            bottles on the bottle platform onto a surface of the pallet;        -   a layer pad applicator sub assembly above the layer pad            store including a layer pad transfer means, wherein when a            predetermined layer of bottles is placed on a surface of the            pallet, the layer pad transfer means is actuated to take a            layer pad from the layer pad store and transfer the layer            pad over and onto the layer of bottles in a fifth defined            pathway overlapping the first defined pathway;    -   whereby when a predetermined layer of bottles is loaded onto a        surface of the pallet and a layer pad is disposed on the        predetermined layer, the floor portion of the pallet housing is        lowered incrementally within the housing so that a fresh surface        of layer pad is presented for receiving the next layer of        bottles from the bottle loading platform.

A particular advantage of the improved palletiser system is that thefirst to fifth pathways within the first palletiser station provide asubstantially reduced footprint, that is, the palletiser stationoccupies less available space than prior art palletisers. This isclearly advantageous where space is at an increasing premium.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way ofexample only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1: is a photograph of a palletiser system including a palletiserstation for loading and packaging bottles in accordance with anembodiment of the instant invention from a pallet loading elevation;

FIG. 2: is a photograph of a palletiser system including a palletiserstation of FIG. 1 shown from a transverse side;

FIG. 3: is a close-up photographic view of a palletiser housing of apalletiser station in accordance with an embodiment of the instantinvention;

FIG. 4: is a photograph of a palletiser system including a series ofpalletiser stations in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention shown fitom a side perspective elevation;

FIG. 5: is a photograph of a palletiser system including a series ofpalletiser stations in accordance with FIG. 4 shown from an oppositeside perspective elevation;

FIG. 6: is a photograph of a pallet housing of a palletiser station inaccordance with an embodiment of the instant invention showing a fullyloaded pallet about to exit the pallet housing; and

FIG. 7: is a photograph of a layer pad transfer assembly of a palletiserstation in accordance with an embodiment of the instant invention shownin a perspective view.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT WITH REFERENCE TO THE DRAWINGS

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a palletiser system 1 forefficient loading and packaging of unstable container items such asplastic bottles 2. The palletiser system includes a pallet station 3having a pallet housing 4 (best seen in FIGS. 3, 4 and 6), whichreceives a pallet 5 therein from an in-feed station (not shown) onto amovable floor portion 6. In operation, the floor 6 is raised and loweredwithin the housing 4 by an electrically operated hoist 30 within thepallet station.

The floor portion is lifted between a pallet receiving condition (referFIG. 3), in which a pallet is transferred from a pallet in-feed station,and an elevated bottle receiving/loading position 31 (see FIGS. 4 and5).

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pallet station 3 further includes a layerpad store 7 having a stack of layer pads, and an open side portion 9 ofthe pallet station 3 transverse to the pallet housing, for receivingbottles from an in-feed conveyor 8. The open side portion 9 of thepalletiser station defines the opening of a passageway (not shown) whichextends into the pallet station between the pallet housing 4 and layerpad store 7. Within the passageway there is mounted a bottle receivingstation (not shown) and a lifting assembly.

The bottle receiving station includes a movable bottle receivingplatform (not shown), which is movable by a lifting assembly (not shown)between a bottle receiving position, in which the platform receives apredetermined row of bottles from the in-feed conveyor 8, and a bottleloading position (not shown) immediately adjacent the pallet when thepallet is in the bottle receiving position 31.

At least a portion of the in-feed conveyor 8 includes an in-feed pathway8 a which enters the opening 9 and extends at least partially into thepassageway of the pallet station 3 for transfer of bottles onto themovable platform. A predetermined number of bottles for forming a row onthe pallet is transferred onto the bottle receiving platform. Once thepredetermined number of bottles is transferred onto the bottle receivingplatform, the platform is elevated by the lifting assembly (not shown)to the bottle loading/dispensing position in the pallet stationimmediately adjacent the pallet when the pallet is in a bottle receivingposition. The pallet station also includes a push member (not shown),which is actuated when a predetermined row of bottles is presented atthe bottle dispensing position. The push member operates by reciprocalmovement between a stored static condition and a pushing condition. Inthe static condition, the push member is located sufficiently away fromthe bottle receiving location so that the movable platform can bereceived between the pallet and push member.

The palletiser system of the present invention further includes a palletin-feed sub-assembly 33 (see FIG. 3) for transferring a feed of palletsfrom a pallet store (not shown). The pallet m-feed sub-assembly includesa track system 34 electrically operable to transfer a pallet along apath for loading onto the floor portion 6 of the pallet housing. Thefloor includes a mating track system adapted to cooperate with thein-feed path track to allow automatic loading of a pallet onto thefloor.

The pallet in-feed sub-assembly includes a delivery in-feed conveyor(not shown) for receiving and transferring a pallet; and a palletcontrol operating system downstream from the delivery in-feed conveyor.The pallet control system is adapted to position the pallet on thein-feed conveyor for transferring onto the floor of the pallet housing.

Referring to FIG. 7, the pallet station further includes a layer padtransfer assembly 10 which is mounted to an upper portion of the palletstation adjacent the layer pad store. The layer pad transfer assemblyincludes a layer pad transfer member 11, which is controllably movableon a frame of the assembly by actuators (no shown) between a pick upcondition and a drop off condition. The layer pad transfer assemblyfurther includes a sub-assembly mounted within the pallet station abovethe layer pad store which supports the layer pad transfer member forsliding movement therealong between a pick-up and transfer conditions.When a predetermined layer of bottles has been positioned on the pallet,the transfer member is actuated to pick up a top layer pad from thelayer pad store and transfer the layer pad onto or over the layer ofbottles.

The layer pad transfer member includes a vacuum head assembly 35comprising a vacuum generator, suction cups mounted to a frame. In afurther embodiment (not shown) the transfer member includes a head frameguided cylinder for adjusting the height of the head assembly; and agantry linear drive for providing substantially horizontal movement tothe head assembly between the layer pad store and the pallet in a bottlereceiving position.

As seen in FIG. 6, the palletiser system further includes a palletout-feed path 34 for transferring a fully loaded pallet exiting thepallet housing of the pallet station to a further processing stationdownstream therefrom such as a wrapping station. The out-feed pathincludes a track or roller system that cooperates with the track orroller of the floor portion.

In a further embodiment (not shown), the palletiser system furtherincludes a plastic wrapping station downstream from the out-feed pathwhich intersects the pallet out-feed path with a rotatable platform. Thewrapping station includes an upright rotatable plastic wrappingstructure about which there is wound plastic wrap material.

In an operating condition, an initial portion of the wrap material ismanually contacted with the loaded pallet, and the platform subsequentlyrotated so that the plastic wrap material is unwound from the wrappingstructure and encapsulates the loaded pallet.

As best shown in FIG. 2, the palletiser system further includes a bottlemanufacturing apparatus 50 upstream from the first pallet station.Bottles are manufactured by injection blow molding and dispensed by thebottle manufacturing apparatus onto the in-feed conveyor(s).

In a further embodiment in FIGS. 5 and 6, there is shown a palletisersystem including multiple palletiser stations 100, 101 and 102 in aseries. As shown, each pallet station includes an opening and internalpassageway forming a thoroughfare through which the in-feed conveyor 8traverses. In this embodiment the in-feed conveyor 8 is configured tohave a plurality of vertically spaced and parallel bottle in-feed lines60 a, 60 b and 60 c, which link each of the pallet stations.

In this embodiment the series of palletiser stations are linked by the aplurality of vertically spaced apart bottle in-feed conveyor lines,wherein a first of the in-feed lines feeds bottles to the firstpalletiser station and subsequent in-feed lines feed bottles to thesecond and third palletiser stations. In this way loading of one row ofbottles on a first pallet in a first pallet station can be offset withthe series of palletiser stations so that loading and palletisingprocess by the palletiser system is substantially continuous.

While the present invention has been described with reference to a fewspecific embodiments, the description is illustrative of the inventionand is not to be construed as limiting the invention. Variousmodifications may occur to those skilled in the art without departingfrom the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined by theappended claims.

A reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and shouldnot be taken as, an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that thereferenced prior art forms part of the common general knowledge inAustralia.

Throughout this specification, the words “comprise”, “comprised”,“comprising” and “comprises” are to be taken to specify the presence ofstated features, integers, steps of components, but does not precludethe presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,components or groups thereof.

In the claims, each dependent claim is to be read as being within thescope of its parent claim or claims, in the sense that a dependent claimis not to be interpreted as infringed unless its parent claims are alsoinfringed.

INTERPRETATION Embodiments

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristicdescribed in connection with the embodiment is included in at least oneembodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases“in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughoutthis specification are not necessarily all referring to the sameembodiment, but may. Furthermore, the particular features, structures orcharacteristics may be combined in any suitable manner, as would beapparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from this disclosure, inone or more embodiments.

Similarly it should be appreciated that in the above description ofexample embodiments of the invention, various features of the inventionare sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, ordescription thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure andaiding in the understanding of one or more of the various inventiveaspects. This method of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed invention requires morefeatures than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as thefollowing claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than allfeatures of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claimsfollowing the Detailed Description of Specific Embodiments are herebyexpressly incorporated into this Detailed Description of SpecificEmbodiments, with each claim standing on its own as a separateembodiment of this invention.

Furthermore, while some embodiments described herein include some butnot other features included in other embodiments, combinations offeatures of different embodiments are meant to be within the scope ofthe invention, and form different embodiments, as would be understood bythose in the art. For example, in the following claims, any of theclaimed embodiments can be used in any combination.

Different Instances of Objects

As used herein, unless otherwise specified the use of the ordinaladjectives “first”, “second”, “third”, etc., to describe a commonobject, merely indicate that different instances of like objects arebeing referred to, and are not intended to imply that the objects sodescribed must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, inranking, or in any other manner.

Specific Details

In the description provided herein, numerous specific details are setforth. However, it is understood that embodiments of the invention maybe practiced without these specific details. In other instances,well-known methods, structures and techniques have not been shown indetail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description.

TERMINOLOGY

In describing the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated inthe drawings, specific terminology will be resorted to for the sake ofclarity. However, the invention is not intended to be limited to thespecific terms so selected, and it is to be understood that eachspecific term includes all technical equivalents which operate in asimilar manner to accomplish a similar technical purpose. Terms such as“forward”, “rearward”, “radially”, “peripherally”, “upwardly”,“downwardly”, and the like are used as words of convenience to providereference points and are not to be construed as limiting terms.

Comprising and Including

In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of theinvention, except where the context requires otherwise due to expresslanguage or necessary implication, the word “comprise” or variationssuch as “comprises” or “comprising” are used in an inclusive sense, i.e.to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude thepresence or addition of further features in various embodiments of theinvention.

Any one of the terms: including or which includes or that includes asused herein is also an open term that also means including at least theelements/features that follow the term, but not excluding others. Thus,including is synonymous with and means comprising.

SCOPE OF INVENTION

Thus, while there has been described what are believed to be thepreferred embodiments of the invention, those skilled in the art willrecognize that other and further modifications may be made theretowithout departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is intendedto claim all such changes and modifications as fall within the scope ofthe invention. For example, any formulas given above are merelyrepresentative of procedures that may be used. Functionality may beadded or deleted from the block diagrams and operations may beinterchanged among functional blocks. Steps may be added or deleted tomethods described within the scope of the present invention.

Although the invention has been described with reference to specificexamples, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that theinvention may be embodied in many other forms.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

It is apparent from the above, that the arrangements described areapplicable to the palletizing industry and in particular to palletizingand packaging of articles.

1. A palletiser system for efficient loading and packaging of unstableitems such as plastic or glass bottles and the like containers, thepalletiser system including: a first pallet station including: a pallethousing for receiving in-feed of a pallet(s) from a pallet in-feed path,the pallet housing having a floor portion for supporting a palletthereon, the floor portion being movable between a pallet receivingposition and a container receiving station in a first pathway by a firstlifting means in the first pallet station, wherein in a loadingcondition the pallet is raised to the container receiving station; alayer pad store aligned substantially with and in spaced apart relationto the pallet housing, the layer pad store being adapted to receive astore of layer pads for placement over a layer of containers on apallet; a passageway intermediate the pallet housing and layer pad storefor communication with a container in-feed; a container liftingsub-assembly mounted within the passageway, wherein the containerlifting sub-assembly includes a movable platform for receiving apredetermined row of containers from the container in-feed, the movableplatform adapted to move by a second lifting means between a containerin-feed condition and a container transfer station located adjacent thecontainer receiving station, whereby the movable platform is raised bythe lifting means to the container transfer station when a predeterminedrow of containers is detected on the movable platform, and wherein themovable platform defines a second pathway within the first palletstation substantially parallel to the first pathway; a pusher assemblyincluding a pusher arm member mounted within the first pallet stationadjacent the container transfer station, the pusher arm beingreciprocally operable in a third pathway above and in a transverse planeto the first and second pathway to urge a predetermined row ofcontainers on the container receiving platform at the container transferstation onto a surface portion of the pallet immediately adjacentthereto, whereby the movable platform is transferred to the containerin-feed condition following transfer of the predetermined row ofcontainers for receiving a second row of containers in a repeated cycle;a layer pad transfer assembly located adjacent the layer pad store, thelayer pad sub-assembly including a layer pad transfer means whereby whena predetermined layer of containers is formed on the pallet, the layerpad transfer means is actuated by the layer pad assembly to engage alayer pad from the layer pad store and transfer the layer pad over andonto the layer of containers in a fourth pathway within the first palletstation substantially parallel to the third pathway, whereby the layerpad provides a fresh surface thereon for a second and subsequent layersof containers; wherein when a layer pad is placed over a layer ofcontainers on the pallet, the floor portion of the pallet housing isincrementally lowered within the pallet housing to receive a second andprogressive layers of containers, whereby when a predetermined number oflayers is stacked on the pallet, the pallet is automatically loweredwithin the pallet housing to the pallet receiving position to allowtransfer of the pallet to an exit pathway, and receipt of a replacementpallet in a cyclical manner.
 2. The palletiser system for efficientloading and packaging of unstable items such as plastic or glass bottlesaccording to claim 1, further including a bottle in-feed conveyor fortransferring multiple containers to the first pallet station through thepassageway, the in-feed conveyor having a conveying portion configuredto enter the passageway in a direction substantially transverse to thepallet in-feed path.
 3. The palletiser system for efficient loading andpackaging of unstable items such as plastic or glass bottles and thelike containers according to claim 1 further including one or morepalletiser stations in a series having aligned passageways for receiptof an in-feed conveyor, wherein the in-feed conveyor includes aplurality of vertically spaced and parallel container in-feed lineslinking each pallet station such that in a single pass each containerreceiving station can receive a plurality of containers.
 4. Thepalletiser system according to claim 1, wherein when a predeterminednumber of containers forming a row of containers is received on a bottlereceiving platform at the containers receiving station, the movableplatform is raised by the second lifting means to a predetermined levelwithin the first pallet station located adjacent the pallet when thepallet is at the bottle receiving station.
 5. The palletiser systemaccording to claim 1 further including a pallet in-feed sub-assembly fortransferring a feed of pallets from a pallet store, wherein the palletin-feed sub-assembly includes a transfer means such as a track or rollersystem electrically operable to transfer a pallet along the path forloading onto the floor portion of the pallet housing, and wherein thefloor portion of the pallet housing includes a track or roller systemadapted to cooperate with the in-feed path to allow automatic loading ofa pallet onto the floor portion.
 6. (canceled)
 7. The palletiser systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the layer pad transfer assembly includes asubassembly mounted within the pallet station above the layer pad storefor supporting sliding movement of the layer pad transfer means betweena pick-up and transfer conditions, wherein the transfer means is adaptedto pick up and locate a top layer pad from the layer pad store on to thelayer of containers on the pallet.
 8. The palletiser system according toclaim 6, wherein the layer pad transfer means includes: a vacuum headassembly comprising a vacuum generator, suction cups and a frame; a headframe guided cylinder for adjusting the height of the head assembly; anda gantry linear drive for providing substantially horizontal movement tothe head assembly between the layer pad store and the pallet in a bottlereceiving position.
 9. The palletiser system according to claim 1further including a pallet out-feed path for transferring a fully loadedpallet exiting the pallet housing of the pallet station to a furtherprocessing station downstream therefrom, and wherein the out-feed pathincludes a transfer means, which cooperates with the track or roller ofthe floor portion.
 10. The palletiser system according to claim 1further including a plastic wrapping station intersecting the palletout-feed path, whereby the wrapping station includes a rotatableplatform and a plastic wrapping structure, on which there is locatedwound plastic wrap material, wherein an initial portion of the wrapmaterial is contacted with the loaded pallet and thereafter the platformis rotated so that the plastic wrap material is unwound from thewrapping structure about the loaded pallet.
 11. The palletiser systemaccording to claim 1 further including a bottle manufacturing apparatusupstream from the first pallet station, wherein bottles manufactured aredispensed by the bottle manufacturing apparatus onto the one or morebottle in-feed conveyor(s) for transfer of the bottles to one or morepallet stations for loading onto a pallet.
 12. A palletiser system forefficient loading and packaging of unstable items such as plastic orglass bottles and the like containers, the palletiser system including:a series of palletiser stations for receiving bottles and pallets forsubstantially continuous loading, the stations including: a pallethousing for receiving one or more pallets from a pallet iη-feed, thepallet housing includes a movable floor portion, the floor adapted to beraised and lowered by a lifting means within the palletiser stationbetween a pallet receiving condition and a bottle receiving location ata predetermined level, whereby the movable floor defines a first pathwaywithin the pallet station, a layer pad store for receiving a stack oflayer pads for placement over a layer of bottles on a pallet, the layerpad store being spaced apart from and in substantial alignment with thepallet housing; an entrance and exit opening in each of the palletstations defining a passageway therebetween intermediate the pallethousing and layer pad store, wherein the series of pallet stations isaligned so that the passageways form a thoroughfare; an in-feed conveyorassembly for transferring bottles to each pallet station in a singlepass including a plurality of vertically spaced and parallel bottlein-feed lines linking each line to a pallet station via thethoroughfare, wherein at least a portion of the in-feed lines extend ina pathway substantially transverse to the pallet in-feed; a bottlelifting sub-assembly mounted within the each passageway, wherein thebottle lifting sub-assembly includes a movable platform for receiving apredetermined row of bottles from at least one of the bottle in-feedlines, the movable platform adapted to move by a second lifting meansbetween a bottle in-feed condition and a bottle transfer station locatedadjacent the bottle receiving station, whereby the movable platform israised by the lifting means to the bottle transfer station when apredetermined low of bottles is detected on the movable platform, andwherein the movable platform defines a further pathway within the firstpallet station substantially parallel to the first pathway; a bottlepusher means movably mounted to the each palletiser station adjacent thelayer pad store, and operable between a stationary mode and a pushingmode, whereby in a stationary mode sufficient space is provided betweenthe floor portion of the pallet housing and the pusher means forreceiving the bottle receiving platform therebetween in a bottledispensing position whereby the pallet and platform form a substantiallycontinuous surface, and whereby in a pushing mode the pusher means movesover a fourth defined pathway which intersects with the second pathwayfor urging a row of bottles on the bottle platform onto a surface of thepallet; a layer pad applicator sub assembly above the layer pad storeincluding a layer pad transfer means, wherein when a predetermined layerof bottles is placed on a sxuface of the pallet, the layer pad transfermeans is actuated to take a layer pad from the layer pad store andtransfer the layer pad over and onto the layer of bottles in a fifthdefined pathway overlapping the first defined pathway; whereby when apredetermined layer of bottles is loaded onto a surface of the palletand a layer pad is disposed on the predetermined layer, the floorportion of the pallet housing is lowered incrementally within thehousing so that a fresh surface of layer pad is presented for receivingthe next layer of bottles from the bottle loading platform.